Community Development Authority, UNDP sign MoU to implement joint programme to support social initiatives

The Community Development Authority (CDA) in Dubai and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a joint programme to conduct a series of workshops aimed at strengthening social development. Her Excellency Dr Maryam Matar, Director General of the CDA, and His Excellency Dr. Khaled Alloush, UNDP Resident Representative to the UAE, signed the agreement at a special ceremony held, recently, at CDA’s headquarters.

The workshops will be on human rights; women’s rights and children’s rights, and sustainable development. Other UN organizations will be invited to participate as per the topic of the workshop, if necessary. Representatives from the government, non-governmental institutions and private sector will be invited.

“The agreement signed with UNDP comes in line with CDA’s mandate to enhance the social development in Dubai. CDA works on setting up the necessary policies and standards pertaining to social services providers,” said Dr Maryam Matar.

“Led by the directions of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, CDA seeks to cooperate with local, regional and international corporations in various fields as this will reflect positively on the lives of UAE nationals,” added Dr Matar.

Dr. Khaled Alloush said: “The MoU aims to enhance relations with the Community Development Authority in many fields, especially human rights issues. We recently organized a joint two-day workshop on children’s rights and we hope to focus on more essential issues related to the society.”

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The Dubai Tea Trading Centre (DTTC), a division of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), unveiled its new centralised tea storage, blending and value addition services as part of its expansion plans to accommodate the growing activities of the centre. The new facility was inaugurated by Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah; Executive Vice Chairman, DP World and Group CEO, Ports Customs World; and Salma Ali Saif Bin Hareb Chief Executive Officer - Economic Zones World. The 23,731 square metre facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone also includes office space for regional and international tea companies.

DTTC’s new facility offers services across the entire value chain of the tea industry ranging from storage, tea tasting, blending, packaging as well as networking opportunities leading to increased trade. The new facility also provides dedicated individual storage space, free storage for a limited period of time, and temperature-controlled blending and packing facilities for a wide range of teas under one roof.

“Tea is a truly global commodity – consumed among a wide array of peoples and cultures. It is fitting that Dubai, with its geographic advantage and world-class infrastructure, is perfectly placed to become an important hub for international tea trade,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, DMCC. “DTTC has already made significant contribution to growing the tea trade. This new facility – a one-stop solution for the tea industry - will further boost tea traded through the emirate, contributing to the ongoing diversification of the emirate’s dynamic economy.”

DTTC’s success is demonstrated by Dubai’s encouraging tea growth, which is evident from the growing tea trade. In 2008, Dubai’s total tea trade reached 148.6 million kilos, compared to 144.6 million kilos in 2007. In the same period, 5.92 million kilos of multi-origin teas were transacted through the DTTC, representing an annual growth of 15 per cent.

Sanjay Sethi, Head of the DTTC, said: “DTTC’s new facility is a milestone for the Centre as well as the global tea trade. As Dubai is neither a producer nor a significant consumer of tea, it is well positioned to offer integrated services across the tea industry. We have already seen immense interest from international tea traders to avail these new facilities. We are confident that the new Centre will attract more tea traders and boost the volumes of tea traded through Dubai,” he added.

The new Centre has the capacity to store up to 5000 metric tonnes of bulk teas at any given time. In addition, up to 2400 metric tonnes of CTC teas and leaf teas can be blended per month. DTTC’s new facility also has the capacity to pack up to 250 metric tones of tea in tea bags every month and upto 900 metric tones of loose tea in retail format per month. These comprehensive services are expected to further help boost the volume of tea traded through Dubai.

In addition to providing market infrastructure, DTTC also enables tea traders to access finance through the services of the Global Multi Commodity Receipt (GMR).

The DTTC presently stocks teas from 13 producing countries, including Kenya, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Nepal, China and Iran. In keeping with its mandate to further increase the tea trade in and through Dubai, the DTTC also facilitates sales with buyers in the GCC countries, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the CIS countries and has plans to expand its services to other Middle East and European markets.

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A set of lost keys opened doors to a fortune for 28-year-old Iranian expatriate Mr Kaveh Oyarhosseini, the first winner of the weekly draw at the Festival@The Dubai Mall. The weekly Saturday draws for AED 100,000 offer a bonus AED 50,000 for the winners, if they are present at the mall during the raffle draw.

Mr Oyarhosseini had waited for the daily draw results having come to the mall for a business meeting, but had left the mall before the AED 100,000 result was drawn. He was forced to return to the mall when he realised he had misplaced his apartment keys. While at the coffee shop, enquiring about the keys to the staff, the mall management called him to say his coupon had been drawn to win AED 100,000 and he had five minutes to arrive at the Star Atrium to claim the additional bonus prize of AED 50,000.

As spectators waited eagerly to watch the lucky winner, Mr Oyarhosseini came running down the stairs beaming in utter delight of winning it big. The mall visitors broke out in applause when Mr Oyarhosseini explained that he was in the mall looking for his lost keys. “They were the keys to luck,” he said.

The lucky win was extra sweet as Mr Oyarhosseini got the draw coupons after purchasing a diamond ring for his wife, Negin, from the Gold Souk of The Dubai Mall to celebrate her birthday and their wedding anniversary. “She told me that we will win, and we submitted half the coupons in her name and the rest in mine,” said the young entrepreneur who offers automation solutions for Dubai and Sharjah water and electricity authorities.

He had waited for the results of the draws twice earlier, and once even went up to the DED officials to check if he had won. “We thought we might win one of the daily raffles for AED 10,000 but this came as a total surprise,” said Mr Oyarhosseini. His wife soon joined him to celebrate the lucky win, and the couple simply couldn’t contain their joy.

As part of the Festival@The Dubai Mall, five draws for AED 10,000 are held daily at 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm and 10pm. Every Saturday a weekly draw is held for AED 100,000 at 6:15pm with the winners standing to gain an added AED 50,000 if they are present at the mall during the draw. The grand draw will be held at the end of the festival for AED 1 million. The total prize money for the ‘Win Millions’ raffle over the 30-day festival is AED 3.1 million.

To participate in the draw, visitors to the mall only have to spend an aggregate AED 500 at any of the participating stores, including the F&B outlets, during the one-month festival period. Officials of the Dubai Department of Economic Development conduct the draw in the presence of officials from The Dubai Mall and Dubai Shopping Festival Office.

The month-long festival also features an innovative Bid 2 Win, a live auction held during the weekends; a Grand Bentley raffle with only 5,000 tickets of AED 200 each going into the draw and roaming entertainment through the mall. Visitors can also revel in the spectacular sight of The Dubai Fountain, the world’s tallest performing fountain, currently undergoing testing phase.

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The Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy met representatives of various Economic Departments in the UAE to implement an integrated plan to ensure market price stability during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Dr Hashim Al Nuaimi, Director of Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry, who headed the meeting, urged the departments to exert efforts to provide acceptable prices of commodities and closely watch the market performance during the Holy Month.

Al Nuaimi asked the departments to stop any attempts at price manipulation and to encourage retail outlets to offer more basic commodities at low prices. He said that the Ministry of Economy was committed to ensuring that essential commodities are not hoarded or prices manipulated.

He asked them to create awareness on best consumer practices during Ramadan. He also recommended that retail outlets interested in offering new promotions must send an official request to the concerned Economic Department to be exempted from promotion fees.

Al Nuaimi said the economic departments can hire dedicated teams to monitor the market performance to ensure price stability during the holy month.

Retail outlets representatives welcomed the Ministry’s suggestions and praised its early efforts to create price stability.

Al Nuaimi said the Ministry will have two follow-up meetings with retail outlets to ensure that supply is smooth and prices are lowered.

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Obama behind the racist attacks against Indians

The spreading of racial attacks against Indian students from Australia to Canada has strengthened the dreaded concerns that the white supremacy secret organization, Ku Klux Klan is behind the attacks on the minority community.

In the past one month, 11 cases of such racial attacks were reported in Australia. The life of one of the students, who was attacked was in danger, the doctors said.

In the early stages, the police and the authorities refused to acknowledge that the attacks, which were called "Curry Bashing" in the local slang, were racially motivated. The authorities instead, blamed the Indian students of not conducting themselves in public places and advised them not to talk in their native languages loudly in public. This came as a big surprise from a multi ethnic community who took pride in their ethnic tolerance and preservation of ethnic identities.

An attacked Indian student's relatives protest against the racial attacks

Early in February, the police had warned Indian students not to carry publicly and display valuable articles, like laptops or iphones and demanded Indian students to show more restraint in their social activities. The Australian police were also planning to tour India and conduct training sessions in acceptable behaviour, in various Indian cities like Bangalaore, to aspiring Indian students seeking higher education in Australian educational institutions.

The white supremacy secret organization called Ku Klux Klan, whose proclaimed aim is to protect the rights of the white, endorses violence and intimidation to acheve its goals. Although formed in the United States, it has spread itself to several countries occupied by the white population. The Klan started its function by attacking the African Americans and then proceeded to target Jews, Roman Catholics, Labour Unions and other Minority Communities.

The election of an Afro American, Barack Obama, to the presidency of the United States of America, had enraged the Klan and this in turn resulted in an unprecedented rush in recruitment to the Klan in the recent months. Although the membership to the Klan is a well guarded secret, this fact was revealed to the media by a top Klansman, to emphasize the Obama effect on racism.

The recent violent racist attacks against the Asian community and especially the Indian students in Australia, followed by similar incidents in Canada, signals an emerging global phenomenon possibly perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan.

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Etihad Launches Flights To Istanbul

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has launched flights to Istanbul, the commercial capital of Turkey. The inaugural flight EY097 departed from Abu Dhabi airport on schedule at 9.15am on Monday 1 June and landed in Istanbul at 12.50pm, the same day.

A high level Turkish delegation met the plane as it arrived at the Istanbul Ataturk airport which included UAE Ambassador to Turkey, H.E. Khalid Khalifa Al Mualla; Istanbul Ataturk airport chief, Mehmet Ali Ulutaş and Turkish Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, İsmet Yılmaz.

The group then welcomed the Etihad delegation which included Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer, and Turkish Ambassador to UAE, H.E. Hakkı Akil.

Peter Baumgartner said: “We are delighted to launch flights from Abu Dhabi to Istanbul, where we have received such a warm welcome. Not only will the route provide a boost to tourism in the UAE and Turkey, but it will also support the growing commercial ties between the two countries.”

Turkey is one of the UAE’s largest trade partners, with USD $9 billion in annual bilateral trade volume generating strong economic relations and sound business opportunities for both countries.

Last year saw foreign trade figures reveal Turkey as one of the UAE’s top 10 biggest suppliers, while over the past five years (2004-2008) the UAE’s exports to Turkey have increased six-fold.

The new route has not only be welcomed by the 6,000 Turkish expatriates currently living and working in the UAE, but will also provide convenient onward connections to some of the well-established Turkish communities served by Etihad’s global network – in particular, Sydney and Melbourne.

Etihad operates a two-class Airbus A320 to Istanbul, configured to carry 140 passengers with 20 seats in business class and 120 in economy class.